Crime Prevention

According to experts on crime prevention, for a crime to occur,three elements have to be present: ability, motivation andopportunity. Eliminate any one of these, and the crime will notoccur. Here’s how you can do that:

• Be wary of people who don’t appear to belong in or around yourbusiness. Ask them questions. If their answers are vague,unconvincing or suspicious, call the police.
• Encourage employees to keep their personal possessions in sightat all times. Do not leave purses or briefcases unattended inpublic areas or unlocked offices anywhere. It only takes a matterof seconds for things to disappear.
• Instruct everyone to lock office doors when they step out, evenfor a minute.
• Install deadbolt locks on external doors. Burglars typicallyspend no more than a few minutes or even seconds attempting tobreak into a building. Sturdy, properly installed deadbolt locks onall external doors are a must.
• Have a trustworthy locksmith rekey the locks on all newfacilities as soon as you move into them.
• Install outdoor floodlights to eliminate dark areas wherecriminals might hide. Make sure parking areas are well-lit.
• Never leave the keys in company cars or other vehicles. Have asign-in board where they can be picked up by authorized employees.Also, never leave car doors unlocked.

Internal crime is also an issue for some business owners. Tohelp prevent embezzlement or employee theft in your business, keepan eye out for these 10 signs:

• Unwillingness of employees to take vacation
• Employees who refuse to delegate certain tasks
• A lack of dual control for tasks involving cash
• Ledgers and subledgers that don’t balance
• Financial statements that don’t balance
• Lack of audit trails
• Regular complains from customers that inventory shipmentsaren’t complete
• Unwillingness of bookkeeper or accountant to shareinformation
• Erratic behavior by an employee
• Unexpected bouncing of checks